A Man's Contract (3)
Chapter 170 – A Man’s Contract (3)
"If you answer my questions, you will no longer be in pain."
[!!!!]
Petra wriggled his body in a vertical movement. He vigorously expressed his opinion through this method. He looked like a Wisp trying to express its emotion. It was quite funny, so Artpe laughed as he slightly loosened the cocoon.
[Fuck off······ Koohk!?]
When he regained some control over his Mana, he tried to freeze Artpe with his cold energy. However, the cocoon ignited. It started to burn, and it caused tremendous pain to Petra.
"Our party’s greatest strength is that we share our Mana and attributes. Isn’t it awesome?"
[Ggoo-ahhhhhhhhhh!]
It wasn’t a simple flame. It was the flame of the Phoenix that was infused within the longsword. Moreover, Sienna’s magical energy had been added too, and it had transformed into something that could be called a holy flame. This flame had manifested all along the cocoon! It was so painful that tears of blue blood started to pour out of Petra’s eyes.
[Ggoo-ooh, ggoo-hooooooooo······.]
The flame over the entire cocoon extinguished itself in short order, but a flame continued to burn at the tail end of the cocoon. Moreover, Artpe still had a full reservoir of Mana. If he received help from his staff, he could easily create another flame. It would be much bigger than the one from before. Hurray for the Materialization magic.
"You probably know this, but there won’t be a second chance."
Artpe wasn’t being stingy. It meant that Petra would die if he was hit with an attack similar to the one from before.
[I’m a Four Heavenly King······ Do you really think I’ll cooperate with a hero? Foolish hero, you will lose against the power of the Demon realm….]
"I see. You do not serve the Demon King. Right? You said the Demon realm instead of the Demon King."
[······!]
Arte spoke as he touched his neck. If he had a shackle, it would have been located exactly at that region. Of course, Petra knew what Artpe was referring to.
[You bastard. How much…. Koohk. How much do you know······!]
"I told you what I know earlier. I know the Demon King keeps the Demon race in check using his Innate ability. This is how he normally controls the Demons. However, I also know that the previous Demon King’s forces aren’t fettered by the Demon King’s shackles. This group is secretly working behind the scene. That is all I know. You should be fettered by the Demon King’s shackle, yet you are free from it right now."
[You are merely a hero, so how…!?]
"How I found out about it isn’t important. Well, let’s continue our conversation. You probably didn’t like your current situation, right? You finally reached a position that was directly beneath the Demon King, yet someone suddenly showed up to steal your spot. Moreover, the Absolute Control of the Demon King became untenable by this new group."
[······.]
Artpe was making an educated guess to a certain extent. He had no proof that the previous Demon King’s faction had interfered with the current Demon King. However, Artpe had killed a Demon in the ruin just now, and the Demon possessed more magical energy than Petra. This was why Artpe knew that Petra’s original position had been threatened. He was able to deduce all this.
"Moreover, if I had to make a guess right now…. Did something happen to the current Demon King?"
[······!]
When Artpe saw Petra’s eyes widen, he came to the conclusion that something disastrous had happened to the current Demon King. There was no way that monster would be pushed around by a level 400 Demon. What the hell happened!
Artpe sighed in lament when he realized the whole situation had gone awry. Why did the previous Demon King’s faction do nothing in his past life? Why only in this current life…..
"Wait moment."
At this point, he remembered the words of the previous hero Nanarai Bodra. His sunbae had always been obsessed with boasting about himself. He loved listing his accomplishments. In all his boastings, did he explicitly write down the words, ‘I killed the Demon King’?
······he never did.
"Whoa. Wait a moment."
Shit. Why was he having such thoughts now? Artpe couldn’t understand it himself, yet the idea had blossomed. It filled the space within his head.
He glanced at his comrades. They were looking at him with worried eyes. He glared at Petra, who was dancing the twist within the cocoon. He asked Petra a question.
"Is the previous Demon King still alive?"
[······.]
Artpe was greeted by a long silence. Petra studied them, and in the end, he came up with an answer that would cause the most strife to Artpe’s party. He put on a sincere sneer as he replied to Artpe’s question.
[······what will you do if I
"My god."
Petra hadn’t even thought about hiding his emotion. Artpe’s head spun.
He had first come up with the idea as a joke. Since there were two heroes, it wouldn’t have been strange if there were two Demon Kings. However, the vague idea had suddenly turned into something concrete. In the end, it had become reality.
He didn’t know what happened to the current Demon King. At the very least, it was clear that the previous Demon King was at large on this world. Moreover, the previous Demon King was clearly stronger than the current Demon King! In the end, the arrogant sunbae-nim had been unable to kill the Demon King of his era!
He had wondered why that sunbae bastard had prepared so many things for the future heroes. He had also talked about researching for a way to turn the Demons into humans, but in the end, the previous hero had been unable to properly finish the job! On top of it all, why was the previous Demon King attacking after all this time had passed?!
‘Wait a moment. The dream I had in the past…. It was probably Maetel’s memory from her past life. What did Regina say? There was something more horrible than the Demon King, and didn’t she say that it had been released?’
He understood now that the previous Demon King had been freed in his past life. However, why did that event extend into his current life?! It felt as if the answer was at the tip of his tongue, but he could no longer think deeper on the subject. The current situation was already making his head hurt as is.
[I won’t tell you anything beyond this. I acknowledge that you guys are stronger than me. However, it is as I’ve said before. You won’t be able to overcome the Demon realm. In the end, everything will happen according to his will. The human realm will turn into the Demon realm soon. The designation of humans and Demons will become meaningless.
Now that you know this you can kill me. The only thing I regret is the fact that I cannot deliver the inevitable despair you will feel with my own hands.]
"Then Etna…."
Artpe couldn’t hold back his frustration, so he spat out his words. Petra, who had been readying for his own death, froze. His body stiffened.
"What happened to Etna? Where is she right now? Is she safe?"
[You······?]
Artpe would never admit his feelings, but in that moment, Petra saw the emotion within Artpe’s eyes. It was similar to the emotion he felt towards Etna.
Aside from the sword planted in his neck, it was clear that there was a connection between Etna and Artpe. When Petra confirmed Artpe’s feeling towards Etna, he forgot about his current situation. He let out words of derision.
[Are you crazy?]
He was in pain, yet he cackled. He laughed at Artpe with all his heart.
[It is true that Etna isn’t like other Demons in that she cares about the other races. She is a foolish woman, but…. She isn’t foolish enough to ignore her true nature. She is undeniably a Demon. When the time comes, she won’t hesitate to burn you alive. This won’t be the fault of the Absolute Control of the Demon King. It is the fate between the Demon race and the human race. You are the so called hero, yet you….]
"Stop spouting such nonsense. I asked you about her whereabout."
Artpe had completely ignored his words. This made Petra grind his teeth, and he laughed more heartily.
[There is only one thing you’ll be able to do when you meet Etna. You will do what you are doing to me. You will kill Etna. Since you have that magician by your side, it’ll be easy for you to kill her. That is why I won’t tell you her location. I love her. Even if she doesn’t want me, I want her to live on. I want her to be part of the new Demon realm.]
It seemed Petra planned on saying nothing. In truth, Artpe had used the experience of his past life and his Read All Creation ability to fluster Petra. It had barely been enough to make Petra him talk. Now Petra clearly had an idea as to what Artpe wanted to know through Artpe’s own words. The possibility of getting an answer to his question was close to nil.
He now knew that the previous Demon King was still alive. He also learned that the current Demon King’s position had been threatened. He might even be dead. Artpe would have to be satisfied with what he had learned. He would have to back off now.
"Artpe, you said it’ll be too dangerous to linger here. Those were your words."
"······yes, I did say that. Let’s go."
Artpe lifted a finger. If he raised his finger a little bit more, his Materialization magic would activate once again. It would tighten the Mana Strings, and Petra would be burned to death by the holy flame.
Before he did that….
"You call that love? You are merely a stalker."
[!?!?]
He couldn’t hold back the words he had always wanted to say to Petra. It was something he had pushed down in his past life. He had transitioned from being a Four Heavenly King into being a hero, and he was finally able to speak his mind.
"You never asked about what Etna wanted. Isn’t that right? You probably have no idea what her thoughts are. She will act a certain way, because she is a Demon? It doesn’t matter if one is born as a human or a Demon. We all want the same thing in life, dumbass. Etna hates fighting as much as she hates the endless fire that burns within her. Did you know that, you fucking idiot? For your information, she realllllllllllly hates you. You should take a hint at some point. I guess it is understandable, since you don’t care what Etna thinks. You just pushed your unwanted feelings onto her. You probably don’t know how much she hates you."
[······.]
Each point brought up by Artpe couldn’t be denied. Petra couldn’t speak a single word at the bombardment of truth. Of course, this was the same for the members of Artpe’s party. From their perspective, the hero sounded as if he knew the Four Heavenly King on a personal level! Amongst them, Maetel’s eyes shone unusually bright.
"I see. Artpe knows Etna really well······."
"Unni!? The battle has ended, so why are you raising your sword!? Unni!?"
Fortunately, Maetel’s anger didn’t have the chance to be directed at Artpe. Petra had opened his mouth before that could happen.
[Do you really think you will be able to understand Etna? What will change for her even if you understood her? Will your position against her change? Will her position against you change?]
"It can be changed. You have no idea."
[······.]
In a flash, Petra became filled with anger when he saw the certainty in Artpe’s eyes. They loved the same woman. As a male competing for the same woman, he wanted to break Artpe in half. Petra realized that his love couldn’t be realized, so he wanted to see this man despair in front of Etna. That was the only way he’ll feel better.
[Hero.]
His death was imminent. In that moment, his pride as a man leapfrogged any ideology as a Demon.
[Give me a Soul Contract. I will bring you in front of her at all cost. Let’s see if you can speak those exact words to her!]
For the first time in his life, Petra Dealeto Tekotooth deviate from the plan.